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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. can — a tin
  4. lie — to recline
  5. club — for golf
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — happy
  10. cold — not warm
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. can — a tin
  13. club — a group
  14. spring — the season
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. content — the amount
  23. can — to be able to
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com